Return
by Gio Gio Star
Summary: Summary inside. Naruto has captured Sasuke. And now Sasuke's life is in the hands of the people who would rather have him dead. Can Naruto convince the Hokage, his friends, and the village to spare the Uchiha's life?


Return

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Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. That is all.

Summary: Right after the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke, they are both brought back to the hospital for recovery. But when Sasuke tells Naruto the rue reason why he attempted to destroy the village, Naruto realizes the epic race to save his friend's life has just begun. And why does Tsunade want to save Sasuke's life?

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Ch1

The sun shone brightly in the cobalt sky. The tempest at its end. But the lamentation of the previous battle clung heavily as a frightened child gripping their mother's leg. But time, and nature, ignored the emotional atmosphere; songs of the summer birds in their disorganized harmony. The smell of fresh mowed grass lingered into the hospital room from the lawn outside; mixing itself into the aroma of antibiotics and cleaning agents.

Two young men, badly beaten and bruised, laid in their hospital beds. Both suffering from internal, organ, and outer bleeding, sprains, and even broken bones; including a few cracked ribs.

"I told you I would bring you back." The blonde make spoke.

His face was bruised and puffy. A large gash on his whisker-marked cheek. His tanned skin hid some of the bruises, but not by much.

"I'd kick your ass, but my leg is broken." The raven muttered.

Unlike the sun-kissed blonde, his skin was a silky ivory. Now he was decorated in purple and blue blotches. His face was a slightly disfigured due to a broken nose. His eyes were surrounded by purple shadows of broken blood vessels. Despite his current situation, he couldn't help but cracking a small smile.

"Sasuke." The blonde murmured.

Onyx eyes flashed toward azure eyes. The blonde's voice sounded anxious. Sasuke knew from his youth that he—that boy—wouldn't even worry about life; even if he was out in the rain without a home, cold and hungry. Naruto would just flaunt one of his goofy smiles.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Back at our battle ground," Naruto started. "You said that I was your only one."

"I know. You are. That's probably why I didn't kill you." The ebony haired male spoke.

"So you love me?" Naruto spoke softly.

How he said the word _love_ in particular seems like a foreign word to him. In his world, he had to fight so hard for it, only to be refused of the prize. Love seemed like a mythical treasure. Love was something he heard about. It was always in a glass box; Naruto's version of Pandora's Box. He could see it. But he couldn't truly hold it. Unable to taste it, smell the aroma that intoxicated everybody else. Naruto wanted to feel those effects that everybody in the world got to have. He wanted to have that wild expression of passion in his eyes and have somebody else have that same stare for him. He wanted to feel like he was walking on clouds. He wanted to feel wonderful and awful at the same time. Naruto felt like he wasn't allowed to be blessed by Cupid or Aphrodite. But he knew that love was one of those things that he would never get to have.

"Yes, I do."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked at him with a smile. At the moment, it hurt his face to smile due to the swelling, but he ignored it. Right now he had to answer the olive-toned man. A difficult question that could easily be answered.

Sasuke sighed before he spoke, careful in choosing his words.

"Because you treated me differently.

Naruto looked at the Uchiha in bewilderment. How could he be liked for that? Why would that even be a good reason? Just because Naruto pushed Sasuke off of his high horse, the Uchiha has to go all goo-goo-eyed for him?

"I don't understand."

"It's easy. You treated me like a normal person. You didn't care that I was an Uchiha. You treated me like a human."

Sasuke just looked at Naruto as he took in the information. It was out in the open now. Naruto knew that Sasuke had feelings for him. He now knew how deep they were. He now knew why.

"I'd laugh at this, but it hurts too much." Naruto smiled.

"It's nice to know you're still an idiot."

"And having that stick up your ass." Naruto grinned.

They were both silent for a while. They knew that this conversation would take a turn to the direction they did not want to face, but knew it would be met sooner or later. Sasuke knew very well that the topic would end up into the discussion of why he left to begin with. And Sasuke really didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to damper his dream of Hokage, even though Sasuke knew some things that Naruto would never even imagine the village would be responsible for. But like all good things, they both knew that it would have to go to an end.

"Sasuke, why did you leave then?"

"It's a long story." Sasuke stated.

"I don't mind long stories. It's not like we're going anywhere any time soon."

Naruto had a point. A hospital would be out of its mind to allow both of them to leave in the state they were in their careless conditions to be walking out in the streets.

"True."

"So?" Naruto asked, curiosity filled his eyes.

"For me, the reason started during the Chunin exam, but the problems started before we were even born…"

"What do you mean by 'before we were even born'?"

"This village isn't as innocent as you think Naruto. This village has their hands stained in innocent blood."

Naruto looked at Sasuke in puzzlement. What kind of story did Sasuke have? Could he really handle the story Sasuke had prepared? Naruto knew some things that the village had kept secret, such as his own past. And with Sasuke's past, perhaps it was the same concept.

"Tell me the story." Naruto stated. "I want to know why you left."

G'

Thank you for reading this chapter. Well, I am sorry for not sending updating as often. I just started with my prep classes for college. And I haven't had much time transfering this story from paper to computer. Please read and review.


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